List of Kings of Iraq
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After World War I and the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, the province of Iraq came under the control of the United Kingdom. Despite the efforts of the British, the people rebelled and Iraq showed itself a hard land to govern. In order to restore order, a dynasty of Hashemite kings was established, beginning with Faisal I who was the son of Hussein bin Ali. As a family originating in the Hejaz, the Hashemite dynasty was foreign to Iraq, though they were accepted as Iraq's royal family by a plebiscite showing 96% in favour. The Iraqi monarchy was eventually overthrown by a military revolt in 1958.
When Faisal II became king he was only four years old; until he was 18 the following ruled as regents:
[edit] Current Iraqi claim to the Throne
Sharif Ali bin al-Hussein is thought by some to be a legitimate heir to the position of King of Iraq, based on his relationship to the last monarch, the late King Faisal II.
The former Iraqi Constitution (from when the country was a monarchy, as amended in November 1943) sets rules of succession that stipulate:
- succession to the Iraqi Throne is only for males of Iraqi nationality, and
- takes place according to primogeniture, male dynasts lawfully begotten, from the family of King Faisal I of Iraq by his Queen. Failing male heirs of King Faisal (which occurred in 1958 when Faisal II died), succession is next to lawfully begotten descendants in male line of his brothers, the sons of King Hussein of Hejaz (Sharif Hussein ibn Ali, the Emir of Mecca and King of Hejaz), according to primogeniture, provided they are also Iraqi nationals.
Those who descend in male line only from Hussein's ancestors, are not successors as to Iraq (the constitution mentions only Husseins descent). Female descent is excluded from succession.
Some critics assert that Sharif Ali is not even in line to the throne according to the constitution of the old Iraqi monarchy. According to this constitution, the heir to the monarchy would be Prince Ra'ad (born 1936), who is currently serving as Lord Chamberlain of Jordan.
Of all the kings of Iraq, there are living descendants only of the first king, Faisal I, through his daughters. Such as Faisal I's granddaughter, Sharifa Husaima (Huzeima) who is married with another Hashemite, Sharif Ghazi bin Rakan Nasser (b 1939), and the couple have children and grandchildren.
Ali Bin al-Hussein's family are indeed descendants of Faisal I's father, king Hussein of Hejaz, but not an agnatic branch as they descend through a female line (his mother was a daughter of the Hussein ibn Ali's oldest son).
Moreover, Ali Bin al-Hussein has two older brothers, so his claim would only be valid if they and their children agreed to abdicate their claims. Other claims to the throne of Iraq via the male line could be made by Prince Ra'ad or by King Abdullah II of Jordan.
Contrary to these provisions, and despite the fact that there exist eligible heirs in male line from Hussein of Hejaz that also are Iraqi, this Sharif Ali (only the third son of his own father) has proclaimed himself as the "rightful heir".
Ali Bin al-Hussein is a cousin to the late King Faisal II: his father was Sharif Al-Hussein bin Ali, whose father Ali bin Abdullah Kamil was the brother-in-law and agnatic cousin of Hussein of Hejaz. Sharif Ali Bin al-Hussein's mother is Princess Badia, daughter of King Ali of Hejaz, aunt of the late King Faisal II, and a granddaughter of King Hussein of Hejaz.
Sharif Ali's grandfather, Ali bin Abdullah Kamil, was a maternal uncle to Iraq's first king, Faisal I, and was himself Prince (Emir) of Mecca from 1905 to 1908. [1]
Currently in the politics of Iraq, Prince Sharif Ali bin al-Hussein is the only Iraqi royal campaigning in Iraq for the return of a monarchy based on a Constitutional Monarchy.[2]
